By : Mark Ball
Have you ever been
so hungry you’d eat just about anything? You look in the fridge and search
through your kitchen cupboards for something to fill that groaning hole in your
stomach. Gathering together all the edible items you then set about mixing them
into a bizarre, otherwise unthinkable concoction and, to your surprise, you
like it. You wonder why nobody has ever thought of mixing powdered egg, banana
yogurt and paprika before. That’s probably how cannibalism was invented hundreds
of thousands of years ago. Although there was probably much more slicing and
dicing involved. That’s right,
cannibalism is as old as mankind and we certainly weren’t the first to come up
with the idea. Animals have been eating members of their own species since the
dawn of time and think nothing of it. To them it’s perfectly natural. Many
species of arachnid, for example, instinctively begin to chow down on their
mothers as soon as they are born and some mammals have been known to do the
same thing. In fact, in some cases mammalian mothers will eat their own
offspring if they feel the conditions needed to rear offspring have not been
met. Ever seen a hamster do this? It’s pretty disturbing.
Of course, the
introduction of civilization, the very thing that separates us from the
animals, makes it impractical and morally objectionable to kill and eat your
kinsmen. When living in a group structure it is much better to let your friends
and family live so they can help you carry that massive mammoth carcass back
home. But what if your intended victim is not a member of your tribe? By making
a meal of a rival tribesman you not only rid yourself of a troublesome
neighbor, you also get yourself a family sized bucket of tasty man flesh as a
special treat for the kids. This is one widely accepted answer to the question
of where all those pesky Neanderthals went. That’s right, we ate them (or some
of them at least – the rest probably ate each other).
Our prehistoric
ancestors can hardly be called civilized, however, and things have changed
greatly since the dark days before KFC. Most of us now agree that the idea of
eating another person is grim and stomach turning but, historically speaking,
not all human cultures have shared this view. Many cultures have used
cannibalism simply as a convenient way to dispose of the dead; others have even
embraced it as a religious and ceremonial practice. The Aghori of India, for
example, believe that eating the flesh of a recently deceased person (or not so
recently deceased as the case may be) will give them magical powers. The
Aghori, an extreme and widely condemned Hindu sect, get their kicks by removing
bodies from cemeteries and funeral barges, sometimes eating them raw.
Here are some
examples of cannibalistic societies in recorded history:
1. The Carib
The Carib people of
the Lesser Antilles not only had the entire Caribbean Sea
named after them; their name is also the origin of the word cannibal.
Christopher Columbus was the first to report cannibalism among the Carib, whom
he referred to as the Caniba (a mispronunciation of ‘Karibna’, the Carib word
for ‘person’). Following this many Europeans formed the belief that the Carib
practiced general cannibalism but this was not true, the Carib practiced ritual
cannibalism and only ever against their enemies. Any conquistador to
stumble across a society of cannibals would have been utterly thrilled. At the
time it was considered a Christian’s duty to punish and subjugate any society
known to practice cannibalism. This led to many tribal cultures in the Africa
and the Americas
being falsely accused of cannibalism and may have precipitated the slave trade.
2. The Aztec
The Aztec were
without a doubt the most brutal society in pre-Columbian America. They
made thousands of human sacrifices each year, ceremonially slaughtering their
victims in a variety of grim ways. Typically, victims had their beating hearts
torn out but being burned alive was also quite common. So what did the Aztecs
do with the bodies after the party was over? While there is no academic
consensus on whether or not the Aztecs practiced cannibalism it stands to
reason that they did. Cannibalism, while not necessarily a cultural norm, was
not uncommon in pre-Columbian societies and many scholars argue that the Aztecs
would have thought little of rummaging through the temple bins for a snack.
Others theories that human flesh would have been a delicacy eaten only by the
aristocratic elite. The lack of animal proteins in the Aztec diet would have
made human flesh a healthy and desirable treat, especially considering the
novelty value.
3. The Native
Americans
There is evidence
to suggest that many Native American peoples, including the Sioux, the Cree,
the Comanche and even the Iroquois, may have once practiced ritualistic
cannibalism. Of course, this is a highly charged and highly political debate.
Many argue that the accusation of cannibalism is an attempt to depict Native
Americans as brutal and uncivilized peoples, thus justifying their subjugation.
However, some argue the opposite, saying that Native American cannibalism has
been denied or even covered up by some historians in the name of political correctness.
Whatever the truth, it would seem that cannibalism was once practiced by at
least some Native American cultures, particularly those of Texas,
New Mexico, and Arizona. The now extinct Karankawa of Texas
are a prime example. In 1768 a Spanish priest witnessed and recorded a
Karankawa ritual in which a captive was tied to a stake. The Karankawa danced
around the man, occasionally slicing off a piece of his flesh to be roasted and
eaten in front of him.
4. Africa
While no single
society in Africa can be cannibalistic, the practice of cannibalism in Africa throughout history has been frequent and
widespread. Even today there is thought to be an underground trade in human
body parts. Some believe that eating certain human organs and body parts will
have a magical healing effect and some witchdoctors are thought to run black
market operations, actively harvesting, proscribing and selling bits of other
people as supposed ‘natural treatments’. As a result, thousands of people
across Africa go missing each year after
falling prey to the collection gangs. Most cruel of all is the fact that many
victims are not killed but have parts of their bodies removed whilst alive.
Sickeningly a human penis can be sold as a cure for impotence but there is a
market for everything from a victim’s fingers to their lips. Cannibalism has
also been reported in several recent African conflicts, including the Second
Congo War and the civil wars in Liberia
and Sierra Leone.
It is usually directed against social or racial groups that are thought to be
vulnerable, such as the Congolese Pygmies.
5. Fiji
Cannibalism seems
to have once been widespread in many Polynesian and Melanesian cultures. For
example, Fiji
was once known as the cannibal isles. One Fijian tribal chief claimed to have
eaten 875 people and boasted of his achievement. The native
inhabitants of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia
were also thought to be cannibals. When a waling ship capsized near the islands
in 1820 the captain decided to lead the survivors 3000 miles upwind to Chile rather
than risk taking on the cannibals. Ironically, the survivors themselves later
resorted to cannibalism as a means of survival.
6. The Korowai
The Korowai of
Papua, Indonesia
may be the only tribe left in the world to practice ritual cannibalism. It is
said that they kill and eat members of their tribe that have been convicted of
witchcraft, although this may just be a ploy to attract tourists. Apparently the
brain is most tasty part of the victim’s body and is eaten raw while still
warm. Korowai houses are built high on stilts. It is thought that this design
evolved through a need for protection, owing to the once rampant practice of
cannibalism on the island. Members of the Fore tribe, who live on the opposite
side of the island to the Korowai in what is now Papua New Guinea, are thought to
have contracted the degenerative brain disorder Kuru (also known as laughing
sickness) through the ritual consumption of their own dead tribesmen.
7. The Maori
 |
| Here are some crazy
people that, for whatever reason, have eaten other people |
One of the most
well documented instances of cannibalism involves the Maori people of New Zealand.
Cannibalism has been a part of Maori warfare since time immemorial and they
didn’t stop at killing and eating their rival tribesmen. When the crew of a
British ship, the Boyd, were accused of unjustly flogging the son of a Maori
chieftain, his father’s warriors took revenge by killing and eating 66 of the
ship’s passengers and crew. The event became known as the ‘Boyd Massacre’. The
Maori also cannibalized European settlers in the ensuing wars and rebellions
against the British Empire, as recently as
1869. Of course, the
Maori kicked the habit long ago and now live a healthy flesh-free lifestyle.
The same can also be said of all the cultures on this list, with the possible
exception of the Korowai. But it cannot be said that the archaic act of
cannibalism has completely disappeared; every now and then it rears its ugly,
flesh-chewing head to remind us of our gruesome and barbaric past. Sometimes
this occurs in extreme survival situation (which can perhaps be forgiven) but
it can also take the form of a single crazed lunatic.
8. Jean-Bédel Bokassa
The self declared
Emperor of the Central
African Republic, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, has
been tried, but never convicted, of cannibalism. In 1979, when a number of
school children protested against the introduction of new, mandatory school
uniforms Emperor Bokassa gobbled the naughty children up. Some one hundred
school children were massacred and, while Bokassa clearly could not have eaten
all of them, he is thought to have beaten many of them to death himself.
Bokassa’s Ugandan contemporary, Idi Amin, is also rumored to have eaten his
enemies.
9. Dorangel Vargas
Dorangal Vargas,
otherwise known as the ‘Hannibal Lecter of the Andes’, killed and ate at-least
ten men while homeless and living in a park in San Cristobal, Venesuala. Vargas
used the park as a hunting ground for two years before being arrested in 1999,
after which he has spoken openly about his crimes. “I make a very tasty stew
out of the tongue” Vargo told reporters “and I use the eyes to make a healthy
and nutritious soup.”
10. Armin Meiwes
Post-modern
cannibal Armin Meiwes, Germany’s
‘lonely hearts cannibal’ met his victim on the website ‘Cannibal Café’ where he
had placed a small ad for a ‘well-built 18 to 30 year-old to be slaughtered and
then consumed’. Amazingly, his ad was answered by Bernd Jürgen Brandes and the
two agreed to meet up for a bizarre dinner party. What happened next would be
enough to put most people off their bratwurste. Apparently it was Brandes that
had insisted on having his penis bitten off by Miewes, but while Miewes was able
to burst both of Brande’s testes with his teeth, he had to resort to using a
kitchen knife. Brandes then attempted to eat his own penis raw but found that
it was ‘too chewy’. Attempting to sautee the penis, Meiwes overcooked it and
fed it to his dog. The dismembered Brandes was then given a cocktail of alcohol
and painkillers and left bleeding in a bathtub for three hours before he was
finally killed. His body was chopped up and stored in Meiwes freezer for later
consumption and his bones were ground up in an attempt to make flour.
11. Big Lurch
When Texas rap artist Antron
Singleton, AKA Big Lurch, got the munchies after smoking PCP he decided to make
a meal of his friend, Tynisha Ysais while under the influence of the drug PCP.
Tearing her lungs open with a knife, he removed her lungs, licked his lips and
tucked right in. When police arrived they also found bite marks in her face.
Singleton was found naked and covered in blood and instantly arrested. Needless
to say, he had a terrible headache in the morning.
12. Imperial
Japanese Army
During World War II
the Japanese army conducted many acts of cannibalism against prisoners of war.
In what seemed to be an organized and systematic activity, those crazy Japs had
their fill of captured soldiers from many countries, including America, India
and Australia.
In one documented incident, prisoners were killed and eaten on a daily basis in
a New Guniea internment camp. According to witnesses at-least 100 people were
taken away to be eaten. One retired serviceman claims that the Japanese even
amputated limbs on an ‘as needed’ basis, keeping the victim alive and the meat
fresh.
Source :
http://www.weirdworm.com
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